College of Arts and Sciences

"As an artist of this Kali Yuga age, balancing on this earth which teeters on the last leg of the table of creation, I am an archivist, a collector of old objects, texts, and images, vanishing languages, customs and religions of all places, celebrating creations, disasters, prayers, religious texts,...

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"A vacation with an altruistic twist sounded very intriguing. I checked out the itinerary: Grand Norling Resort Hotel, Mt. Everest flight, Lumbini—the birthplace of the Buddha, Chitwan National Park—home to elephants, rhinos and tigers! Not one, but two Buddhist monasteries." 1. How did you come to visit Nepal, and in...

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What an exciting time that was! What vivid memories! Unpacking the intricacies of language in P.K. Saha's linguistics courses. . . . . Reading Man's Rage for Chaos as part of a Roger Salomon course. 1. You were a professor of English at Kent State University. What was your field? My...

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Roger rarely got angry with me, but one time in his office he barked, "Amy, the Ph.D. program is not a cakewalk!" I have no idea what prompted this, but since Roger was normally gentle as a lamb, it got my attention. Mostly I remember his thoughtful longhand comments and...

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"It’s refreshing in many ways to write short stories after having tackled a novel, which is such an all consuming beast of an undertaking. Of course, writing a short story is draining, too, for you have to work on drawing large ideas in a much smaller space." 1.   Silk...

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"The ever-present possibility of disaster throughout our history has— I would argue—helped to strengthen the culture. "        David Rutledge 1. Could you talk a little bit about this project? I understand that Where We Know: New Orleans as Home is the second book in a planned trilogy. What did...

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